Sticks of butter to grams
In the US, butter is sold in 1-pound boxes of four sticks, and each stick is marked with tablespoon lines on the wrapper. That makes butter the easiest ingredient to measure without a scale, once you know the numbers.
| Sticks | Grams | Tablespoons | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¼ stick | 28 g | 2 | 2 tbsp |
| ½ stick | 57 g | 4 | ¼ cup |
| 1 stick | 113 g | 8 | ½ cup |
| 1 ½ sticks | 170 g | 12 | ¾ cup |
| 2 sticks | 227 g | 16 | 1 cup |
| 3 sticks | 340 g | 24 | 1 ½ cups |
| 4 sticks (1 lb) | 454 g | 32 | 2 cups |
East Coast sticks are long and thin, while West Coast sticks are shorter and stubbier, but both weigh the same 4 ounces. Ignore the shape and go by the wrapper.
Tablespoons of butter to grams
One tablespoon of butter weighs about 14.2 grams, so 14 grams is a good working number.
| Tablespoons | Grams | Sticks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | 14 g | ⅛ stick |
| 2 tbsp | 28 g | ¼ stick |
| 3 tbsp | 43 g | ⅜ stick |
| 4 tbsp | 57 g | ½ stick |
| 5 tbsp | 71 g | ⅝ stick |
| 6 tbsp | 85 g | ¾ stick |
| 7 tbsp | 99 g | ⅞ stick |
| 8 tbsp | 113 g | 1 stick |
Cups of butter to grams
| Cups | Grams | Ounces | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⅛ cup | 28 g | 1 oz | 2 |
| ¼ cup | 57 g | 2 oz | 4 |
| ⅓ cup | 76 g | 2.67 oz | 5.3 |
| ½ cup | 113 g | 4 oz | 8 |
| ⅔ cup | 151 g | 5.33 oz | 10.7 |
| ¾ cup | 170 g | 6 oz | 12 |
| 1 cup | 227 g | 8 oz | 16 |
| 1 ½ cups | 340 g | 12 oz | 24 |
| 2 cups | 454 g | 16 oz | 32 |
| 3 cups | 680 g | 24 oz | 48 |
Converting metric butter amounts
Outside the US, butter usually comes in 250 g or 200 g blocks, and recipes list it in grams. If you are working from a European recipe with American sticks, this table does the translation.
| Grams | Sticks | Tablespoons | In cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 g | 0.44 | 3.5 | 3 tbsp + 1 ½ tsp |
| 100 g | 0.88 | 7.1 | ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp + 2 tsp |
| 125 g | 1.1 | 8.8 | ½ cup + 2 ½ tsp |
| 200 g | 1.76 | 14.1 | ¾ cup + 2 tbsp + ½ tsp |
| 250 g | 2.2 | 17.6 | 1 cup + 1 tbsp + 2 tsp |
A standard 250 g block is about 2.2 American sticks. If you only have sticks, use two sticks plus about 3 tablespoons from a third.
Melted, softened or cold: does it change the amount?
No, the weight stays the same. When a recipe calls for "½ cup melted butter," melt one stick (113 g). You don't need to melt butter first and then measure it in a cup, which is messy and less accurate anyway.
What does change is how the butter behaves. Softened butter (about 65°F / 18°C, where it dents when pressed but still holds its shape) traps air when you cream it with sugar, which gives cakes and cookies their lift. Melted butter can't do that, so the two aren't interchangeable in most recipes, even though they weigh the same.
Measuring butter without wrapper marks: press softened butter firmly into a dry measuring cup to remove air pockets, then level it. Or skip the cup and weigh it: 227 grams per cup, 113 grams per stick.
Salted or unsalted?
Most baking recipes are written for unsalted butter so the baker controls the salt. The two weigh the same, so the conversions here apply to both. If you only have salted butter, reduce the recipe's added salt by roughly ¼ teaspoon per stick.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is a stick of butter?
One US stick of butter weighs 113 grams (4 ounces). It equals ½ cup or 8 tablespoons.
How many grams is 1 cup of butter?
One cup of butter is two sticks, or about 227 grams (8 ounces).
How many grams is a tablespoon of butter?
A tablespoon of butter weighs about 14.2 grams. Most bakers round it to 14 grams.
How many sticks of butter is 250 grams?
250 grams of butter is about 2.2 sticks, or roughly 17.6 tablespoons. Use two full sticks plus about 3 tablespoons from a third.
Is ½ cup of melted butter the same as 1 stick?
Yes. Butter weighs the same melted or solid, so ½ cup of melted butter is one stick, about 113 grams. Measure the stick first, then melt it.
Does salted butter weigh more than unsalted?
No. The amount of salt is tiny, so a stick of salted butter weighs the same as a stick of unsalted. Use the same conversions for both.